Family Affair
by Kaemon
Summary: A/U Elena has spent the majority of her teen years convinced that she was in love with the youngest of her stepbrothers... Now that she's finally woken up, can Damon help her to truly open her eyes? Rated for later chapters.
1. Memories

**Disclaimer:** _This story is based on characters created by L.J. Smith, as portrayed in the TV series created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. All rights reserved by their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended._

**A/N:** This chapter is a prologue of sorts. It contains a selected few of Elena's journal entries throughout the years used to provide a little background information.

**1. Memories**

**October 21, 2003**

Death.

I knew what it was, yet I never understood the actual concept of it until now.

And as I watched the scenery go by from the backseat the moving car, it finally began to sink in.

My father is gone and I am never to see or speak to him again.

This emptiness inside was not what I had expected to feel.

Although fury does swell within me when I think of Uncle John. The soil was still fresh in my father's grave and mother is already moving in with my uncle, father's younger brother, whom I know she had been seeing long before my father's passing. I had hoped that they would maybe show a little respect for him and postpone the news of their relationship for a while.

It's indignant to see that they show no remorse at having been meeting behind his back and I can't believe that he would ask me to behave as if the situation was something normal and to act nicely in front of my cousins and our new neighbors. Honestly, I don't plan to. Don't get me wrong, I will not make a scene, my father raised me better than that. However, I will not stand by and smile as they play the picture perfect couple after soiling my father's memory, who has been buried for no more than a day. I can't believe that Jeremy is so accomodating towards them. He even greeted our uncle with a hug.

Traitor.

After getting out from the car, I went straight to my new bedroom, where I plan on spending most of my time here when I'm not attending school.

**November 1, 2003**

Family.

That is what we are supposed to be, yet I can't forgive our parent's betrayal. My cousins, on the other hand, are a different story. They have nothing to do with _their_ behavior and I am not a spoiled brat. I will not hold my uncle's actions against them. Besides, they are not even his real children. They are the sons of his late wife of two years who conveniently died last summer.

It has been little over a week since we moved in and already Stefan and I are almost inseparable. He's twelve, the youngest and my same age. We do everything together. From school to videogames, he is the one thing that has kept me grounded and is helping me adjust. I can even say that we share a fondness for each other that could only be found between real siblings, it's something comforting to have at this time, since not even my real brother sides with me on this one.

The fondness, however, doesn't seem to extend to his brother Damon, who is fifteen and thus, three years our senior. Stefan says that his brother changed when their mother died and has just been colder ever since. Personally, I think it's me. He just seems colder around me. I have seen him with his friends that come over to hang with him and let me tell you, he is not cold towards them. Nor towards Jeremy, they have become great friends. He even speaks freely to my mother, but every time I come into the same room as him, he shuts up and leaves or just sits and stares at a wall. Stefan tells me to be patient, that he will come around, but I can't help to feel uncomfortable and a bit disconcerted by my older cousin's behavior. I've never even had the chance to talk to him besides the occasional 'Hi' or 'Good morning' both of which are always left ignored sans a nod of the head or a grunt.

**September 14****, 2005**

Sex

Such a small word. Yet the sole mention of it brings up so many issues that it is best left unmentioned. A taboo in our household, I would've never learned the meaning of it if it were not for my best friend Caroline, who always shares with me her findings in her father's video library. Porn can be as intriguing as it is disgusting. I, myself, prefer reading the books she brings over on the subject.

Most of the girls in our class, including Caroline, have already had some level of experience in that field. Wether it be a simple kiss or something else. I on the other hand, have never had the opportunity. Not for lack of interest, mind you.

Let me state this, the girl who denies ever having played with herself at least once is either the world's greatest liar or a saint. Hormones can be a bitch. And the fact that my dearest cousin, Stefan keeps experimenting in my room with none other than my best friend does not help in the least. Caroline keeps pointing out to me how handsome he is, and believe me, I see it. My feelings for Stefan have grown deeper than I would've wanted and the worst is that I know he doesn't see me that way. To him I am just his stepsister and partner in crime. Still, he is one of my best friends and I'd rather have that than nothing at all.

Damon, now that is a completely different matter. He went from pretending I didn't exist to focusing on me as the center of his teasing. I can't be in the same room as he, without him commenting on anything that had to do with me, what I was wearing or doing at that time. The boy is a nightmare!

I have to admit that his appearance is exquisite, as I've been reminded by Caroline plenty of times. He is simply beautiful, from his athletically toned body and crystal blue eyes to his deep voice and sleek ebony hair. He could almost be considered a perfect specimen, if it were not for his lack of personality. Although amazingly enough, it seems that only I noticed that chink in the armor.

But enough about the sexy creep. I've been invited to a back to school party at a the football captain's house this weekend. Mother forbade me to go, but since I honestly don't hold her opinion in such a high standard, I've decided to 'spend the night' at Caroline's, who was conveniently invited as well.

Back to school party, here I come!

**September 17****, 2005**

Caught!

As was planned, I went over to Caroline's early so we could have time to prepare properly for the busy night ahead.

I thought that I was home free. My mother and her husband – I simply refuse to call him uncle any more – had gone to dinner with some friends and I knew they would not be worried since I was spending the night with the Sherif's daughter at her house.

Wrong! It was not my mother who I had to worry about, but my despised stepbrother, Damon. Who was attending the party as well. It was incredibly stupid of me to not consider that possibility earlier, but I honestly never imagined him to have a social life. Not in our same circle, at least, seeing as he didn't actually get along with any of the jocks at school.

But he was there, only God knows why, and it so happened that he forcibly dragged me from the party by the arm after having found me dancing suggestively with one of his classmates. He literally threw me into the passenger seat of his perfectly restored blue camaro and sped off into the night, cursing and lecturing all the way. I tried to hold my tongue, I really did, but the guy can be so insufferable. Right now I can't remember clearly half the things we said. Suffice to state that they were not pleasant. Even so that halfway home, he hastily stopped the car on its tracks and pulled me out of it saying that he would give me what I wanted and even dared to call me a spoiled brat. The bastard pushed me against the car and kissed me, a hard punishing kiss, which was over as soon as it began.

He looked at me, not saying a word, with such an undecipherable stare that my stomach dropped and my knees weakened. Then he swallowed and said "Curiosity does not excuse stupidity, Elena." And he made his way back to his side of the car, leaving me cold and confused. I didn't even have time to register that he had used my full name, something no one in our family ever does. To them, I'm simply 'Lena. It's not really that much of a difference, but it's there in the way he says it, dragging each syllable painfully. As if it hurt him to speak my name.

The drive home was a silent one, no words were uttered and no barbs were thrown after that. He never looked at me again for the rest of the night and I was too much of a coward to even make a sound. I still can't find the sense in his actions of last night. Nothing would've prepared me for it.

He kissed me. Damon Salvatore, KISSED ME!

The worst is... that I don't know why.

**January 13, 2006**

Exhausted.

That is what I am. Exhausted from so much rancor, so much resentment. I am now living at my Aunt Jenna's, mother's younger sister's house in Florida. Miami, to be exact. The prospect of such a thing would be enough to thrill any normal teenaged girl. But, not me. I'll be attending a new school starting monday. A private catholic school for girls, taught only by nuns. I thought such things did not exist anymore. It appears I was wrong, as I have been many times before. I will not deny my fault in this. I am here as a result of my own mistakes and no one else's. I shouldn't have rebelled as I did, shouldn't blame others for my wrong choices, but I did.

Damon kept evading me like the plague after he dragged me home from the party, Caroline and Stefan had withdrawn into their own world. Stefan has turned out to be a heartbreaker, they call him Casanova at our school, yet he has never looked my way and I doubt that he will do so after this. And Jeremy is immersed in his studies like there's no tomorrow. He wants to be a doctor like our father was before he died. So I was left alone with my thoughts.

I sought refuge in the company of men, boys really. The parties and the kissing, it all made me feel, made me forget for a while. But it was not enough. I soon started drinking and the rest of my senses were lost. I still can't conceive of the notion of having left the party with Mason Lockwood, one of Damon's classmates and a senior at that.

Ignorance and inexperience were what drove me, as I would've never expected him to act the way he did. Before I knew it, he had taken me to the backseat of his car and threw himself upon me in a drunken stupor. My underwear was ripped off and I can still feel the cold hands gripping at my thighs, it was horrible. Had Damon not interrupted when he did... I don't even want to think about the consequences.

No resentment is held towards my eldest stepbrother he did what he had to by telling my mother, as I had reached the end of my streak. I will always be grateful to him and I will never be able to forget the disappointment in his eyes as he beheld me that night.

**March 26****, 2010**

In love...

Though, not so much.

I thought I was in love. Finally, somebody wanted me as I was and to my greatest surprise, it was someone who I had known for years.

Stefan. He had formed a band with two of his high school friends and they've been touring the underground scene in the States for a while. It seems that they are quite the thing, though I'm not into that kind of music, since most of it leans toward an electronic sound and I'm more atuned to music of the indie rock persuasion.

Bonnie, my college roommate practically forced me to go with her to a club to celebrate her birthday and his band was playing there that night.

He was surprised to see me at first and when the first set ended he literally jumped off the stage and ran to give me a giant bear hug, I think I felt his hand roaming somewhere in a southern direction, but maybe it was my imagination.

After he was done playing, we went back to my place at the dorms to talk, where he confessed that he had been secretly in love with me since we met. Which, if I hadn't been so desperate to believe, should have raised a red flag. I mean, we were only ten when we first met and I distinctly remember his vehement proclamations about how disgusting the female sex was. But there's no worse blindness than that of someone who is unwilling to see. That, and I'm an idiot to booth.

So blind idiot me began a relationship that ended in heartbreak with the gray eyed boy who was supposed to be my stepbrother. The fact that we really weren't related, not by blood anyway, doesn't make it any less shameful when I think back on it. Like I said, blind and idiotic. He cheated and lied and I was a moron for thinking that things between us could work out. Maybe they would have if he had truly loved me, but I see now that it all was a lie. The worst is that I realize now that even _I_ didn't love _him_ myself. Not in the way a woman loves the man she intends on spending the rest of her life with.

Thank God our family never knew of it and if depends on me, they never will know of our failed attempt at a relationship.

One more mistake to add to an ever ongoing list.

And I thought I had left that phase behind. It seems that I still have more growing up to do.

**June 12, 2011**

Going back.

Aunt Jenna says that it will be good for me to return home, even if it's just for summer vacation. But she doesn't understand that ever since the death of my father eight years ago, I've never had a place that truly felt like home to me. I know a little change, some time off from my banishment should seem like an enormous opportunity for me. But to see all those places and those people again, the fear seems stronger than my dreams of becoming a writer one day.

I will be a stranger at my own family's home. Mother rarely ever comes to visit. Once or twice a year was enough for her conscience to be at ease.

After I dumped him, Stefan never talked to me anymore and our relationship has faded to a memory. Since I only had news of Caroline through him, I know nothing about her either. Jeremy's is in the midst of his going away to college preparations and my friends had forgotten about me, too busy with their own worlds. I was left alone with my thoughts. That is how I learned that no matter what you do and pretend in front of other people, at the end of the day, when you're by yourself, there is nothing left but what you have inside.

As for Damon, I now recognize my feelings for him. The attraction I denied myself to accept. The only knowledge I've had of his whereabouts is that as soon as he finished high school, he left for England, got his bachelor's in business and then moved to L. A. where has been living the good life for almost a year.

Things are better this way, I suppose. His hard looks and judgmental expressions would be almost impossible to bear. I only hope that my childish behavior will be left forgotten in the past, but I greatly doubt it. And now mother called and asked me to change my vacation plans.

**June 30, 2011**

The world is going to end!

Stefan got engaged and our parents are celebrating it by spending two weeks on a Caribbean island, where a friend of my father has a private estate he let him use. Now I'll have to come face to face with my shame sooner than expected. I hope I can pull off the part of the happy stepsister well enough. I didn't have the courage to ask if Damon would be there, but I'm sure he will.

Tomorrow seems farther away than these six years that have passed.

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><p><strong>AN:** The actual story, which begins on the following chapter, will be told in the third person point of view.

I will warn you now that if the characters seem a little O/C, it's because the story calls for them to be that way. They are all human in this story set in modern times and as such, their reactions and behaviour towards certain things would not be the same as seen in the series. Keep in mind that although their reactions may be a little (or a lot) different, their basic personality traits are still the same.

P.S. Reviews = a happy witer... and a happy writer = faster updates ;)


	2. Liar

**A/N:** Please read this before you go on to read the story, because I'm only going to say this once. If you're one of those closed minded people that think Stefan is a saint, the complete gentleman with no faults: _**this is not for you**_ (P.S. I don't think you've been watching the same show!). Don't get me wrong, I like Stefan. No, really, I do! But I respect the character enough to understand that there are different layers and aspects to his intricate personality. So much more than we have yet to see portrayed on the show. But if you pay attention, it's all clearly there. And although it may seem as if I'm trying to bash him in the beginning of this fanfic, if you stick around for the long haul, hopefully you'll witness as I try my best to do his tortured soul justice.

Please forgive the rant, but I felt it necessary to make that clear... Just to avoid offending people and whatnot. But, now that _that's_ done...

A big thank you for all of those reading this, because it means that you took the time to read my lame attempt at a prologue and have decided to give it a chance. But, also, an even bigger THANK YOU to all of you who reviewed and encouraged me to continue. It warmed my heart and sent the muse bunnies into overdrive! :)

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><p><strong>1. Liar (It Takes One to Know One)<strong>

Elena Gilbert did not like to wait. She was currently standing outside of the local airport of an island in the Caribbean, of which she didn't even know the name, waiting for her brother to pick her up. Everyone had already arrived but, since she lived with Aunt Jenna, she had different flight plans. Her trip had been somewhat longer.

She was tired of waiting on her feet so she took a seat on a bench across the enormous sliding doors of the airport's entrance, away from the blaring of the intercom announcing when the next flight would be taking leave. Minutes passed while she sat there patiently – or not so much – waiting for her younger brother, Jeremy and watching as the people went busily hurrying each other along.

She acknowledged the appraising looks that some of the men that went by threw her way, but could not bring herself to return them. She was way too tired to even attempt to flirt.

Elena didn't like to presume or sound conceited, but the truth was that men often flirted with her. They were as attracted to her as moths to a flame. Her long and silky chestnut colored locks would captivate them, along with her big doe eyes and her full lips. You had to add that to her slim figure and slightly accented curves. Yes, men were suckers for her appearance. Nevertheless, she considered all that pure luck, a product of the genetic legacy she inherited from her mother's Bulgarian ancestors.

On occasions, she thought that nature had made her a poor favor in making her beautiful. It was made very clear after she realized that the man she had been in love with didn't have a heart, he hadn't loved her back. In fact, during the short time that they had been together as a couple, she came to learn that the word _faithful_ did not exist in his supposedly extensive vocabulary and that her looks had not helped her one bit.

After trying to understand him, Elena came to realize that she didn't even like him anymore. And, of course didn't love him. So she decided to put an end to their deceitful relationship before she lost her resolve and ended up falling for him again.

That was the reason she had for not wanting to join her family on their summer vacation/engagement celebration. The last thing she wanted was to have to put up with him and act as if nothing had ever happened, even if it was for just a few weeks. Unfortunately, Stefan had gotten engaged and, as a member of that screwed up family, her presence was a must.

Stefan Salvatore was the reason for her previous inner monologue. To think that she had idolized him like a god in her prepubescent years. How could she have been so blind? She had placed him on a pedestal so high up that when he fell because of his deceptions her heart had shattered along with her silly dreams of love.

Stefan, nineteen, was the youngest of her two stepbrothers. While Damon, twenty-two, was the oldest. Her mother had married their widowed stepfather, who was also her uncle, when she was twelve. It was a complicated family affair.

Even as a child she had regarded Stefan as something akin to a hero. The good brother, perfect in every way before her naïve eyes. Such was the admiration she had felt for him that it turned into a full-fledged crush once she had started junior high.

It had reached extremes. Like when she had wanted to join the school band without possessing any sort of musical talent just because he was a musician himself. Her tender preadolescent heart had loved him unconditionally. Luckily enough, things weren't that way anymore. The wound had not been as deep as she had expected it to be. Sole proof that it had never been love in the first place. The lesson had been a hard one, but one of great value nonetheless.

Their relationship, if it could be called that, lasted for about three months and they had kept it a secret, seeing each other behind their family's back. At first she had thought that it had been out of respect for their respective parents. She was sure that they would not have been thrilled to find out that their children, who had lived together under the same roof at one point, were in love. Even if there was no real blood relation between them.

Believe it or not, the whole clandestine feeling of it brought a rush of adrenaline through her every time they met. Even though the idea of his getting away with toying with her feelings and going on as if nothing of importance had ever happened didn't appeal to her, she had no plans whatsoever of telling her family of what took place between them. She did not want anyone to know how stupid she had been.

It hurt to think about her childish behavior. She still hadn't figured out why she behaved the way she did. Maybe it was hormones? But, she highly doubted it. Even though at the beginning of her first year in college she had met numerous guys and even went out with a few of them, she had always been secretly waiting for Stefan. Who had decided to skip college altogether and was already enjoying the fame of his mediocre career as the lead vocals/rhythm guitarist of a band he had formed with his two high school friends, Matt and Tyler. They had aptly – as she would later find out – called themselves, _Cheat_.

She went on with her studies without losing the hope that one day they would meet again and that time he would notice her as something other than his stepsister and her dream would finally come true. Until one night during Christmas break, Bonnie, her roommate and new best friend had coerced her to accompany her to a local nightclub. And guess what? Yeah, you guessed it! Cheat was playing that night.

Her breath caught in her throat the minute their eyes met. The world seemed to spin around her giving her time only to register the different emotions that coursed through his gray eyes in a mere few seconds. First there had been a small surprise at the sight of her, then realization followed quickly by lustful admiration.

There's nothing more to say, but that they had met after the show and went back to her place to _talk – _or as memory served her, to make out for three hours straight. He fed her some lies about how he had always been in love with her and that he had only been waiting for her to grow up. As if! She had been late into eighteen at the time, the exact same age as he was. Then again, she had at least ten more years on him maturity-wise. Being the lovesick, naïve twit that she was she believed him and they had started going out.

It only took three months of his cheating on her with the excuse that a man has needs and that he had to get it someplace else since she didn't put out, for Elena to wake up from her dream and realize that he had been using her and had never loved her.

It had been at that time that she had finally come to realize that what she had thought she felt for him had never been real. It was as if a veil was suddenly lifted from her eyes and she understood at last that she had never fallen in love with Stefan, but with the idea of love instead.

When she told him that she had decided to end their relationship, he had laughed at her and said that it would not be long before she came begging him to take her back. That she belonged to him and they both knew it. With that, she understood how he really saw her. That's when her pride finally kicked in. So she told him that she was nobody's plaything and to leave her to her life. He got furious, seeing as he wasn't accustomed to having been refused anything. He was always the one to leave them, never the other way around. Truly despising him like never before, Elena walked away without giving him a second glance. That was almost four months ago and, to say the truth, she didn't regret it one bit. Leaving Stefan was the smartest decision she had ever made. Thank God she had never gotten around to sleeping with him.

She raised her right hand to look at the love charm Bonnie had given her for her nineteen birthday. She said that it was magical and was supposed to bring her luck in love, but in Elena's case, it seemed to have brought only the bad kind. She was starting to suspect that it wasn't real after all.

The news of Stefan's engagement had come as a bit of a shock. The Stefan she knew would never give up his freedom to be with just one woman for the rest of his life. Of course, fate _did_ work in mysterious ways. Who knows? Maybe he had found the right woman for him. The fact that that thought did not bother her in the least surprised her a little. A sign that she had matured greatly from the gullible girl she had once been.

Be that as it may, she still had had to change her vacation plans because of it. She knew how self-centered he was and he would probably take her absence as an indication of her not being over him. Not to mention the fact that her family would want to know why she would miss a so special occasion. That is why she had called the previous night to confirm her assistance, hoping he wasn't the one to pick up the phone.

To her delight, it had been Jeremy who picked it up. This was best. Better him than _Damon_. Elena always referred to Damon as an ass while engaged in conversation pertaining to his person. But, it was only because he was always tormenting her and making fun of her childish crush on Stefan. She had already gotten used to his teasing when he went and turned the tables on her, kissing her fiercely in a moment of madness to then ignore her like it was nothing at all.

She pushed the thoughts of Damon out of her mind, he was the last thing she should be thinking about after the whole Stefan debacle. She focused instead on the great relief it brought to know that it was Jeremy who was picking her up.

'_He's late though._' She thought as she looked at the wristwatch that rested on her left hand.

She wasn't surprised though and most certainly wouldn't put it past him to have forgotten about her. Elena shifted in her seat again. She was starting to get uncomfortable. Suddenly the loud roar of a car engine caught her attention and she turned her head in time to see a tacky red sports car park in one of the taxi spots.

The girl's eyes shot open like saucers at the sight of the car's driver. A tall, lean man with straight hair as black as night that fell lightly over his eyes – but just barely reached the base of his neck – which were slowly unmasked when he took off his sunglasses and threw them carelessly over to the passenger's seat. A gesture that indicated wealth and a great confidence in himself. Something that most men coveted, but few truly ever achieved. Something that in that man seemed to come as naturally as breathing.

Something she found extremely sexy.

Curiosity piqued, Elena crossed one leg over the other and leaned forward resting her head on one hand to better observe the intriguing man. He was too far away for her to fully appreciate his facial features, partly because of the heat waves that rose from the asphalt due to the high sun.

Something in his stance with both hands inside the pockets of his black pants, looking in every direction as if searching for someone, elicited a strange reaction within her. Maybe it was the way that the fabric adjusted on his legs or how good that button up, dark blue silk shirt accented his chest muscles and biceps.

"Damn!" She let out under her breath. That guy was undoubtedly the epitome of male sensuality.

No man, besides Stefan, had ever brought out such a decidedly lecherous reaction in her. She could have sworn her cheeks were burning up with shame at the realization. But there was no way to be sure because of the incredible heat in that tropical place.

Ignorant of her stare, the man in question turned and walked inside the airport. Elena smiled and leaned back on the bench. It was strange to feel her body react that way once more. Her response had been instantaneous and the tingling still lingered in her body. She didn't remember ever feeling so attracted to anyone before, not even Stefan. She shook her head. The guy had been several meters away and she couldn't even get a good look at his face for God's sake!

At that moment, the object of her musings strode out the airport's doors, spotted her and started walking towards her. It must have been a very comical sight to see her looking around like a fool trying to understand if he was really heading for her or not. When she saw that there was nobody near her, she turned and faced him once more and waited to see who the handsome stranger was.

As he came near, she finally took a good look at his face and incredulity took over. She knew the man's face as well as her own and _handsome _didn't begin to describe what he was. A spark of humor shone in his arctic blue eyes, eyes that had graced her with nothing but mockery during her adolescent years.

'_Damon Salvatore?_' No, destiny could not be so cruel. She had felt those things for _him_? Soon she would wake up and realize it all had been nothing but a nightmare.

However, dream or reality, she couldn't seem to take her eyes off him. Until the sound of a group of tourists laughing broke through the tense moment. She blinked and looked at him once more, this time sure that she wasn't dreaming. Elena then lowered her eyes to the ground, trying to calm the myriad of thoughts that were racing inside her head.

This could _not_ be happening to her.

Be that as it may, he could never be allowed to know of the thoughts occupying her obviously dysfunctional brain at that moment. She would die of embarrassment and he would never let her live it down. He was always bugging her. Like when you have an itch that you can't scratch. Elena decided that whatever it was that she felt, she would not let herself feel it again and did her best to get herself together.

Looking up through her eyelashes, she saw that Damon had stopped a few feet before her. Her heart skipped a beat. She had no option. She had to confront him, whether she wanted to or not. She put on the most indifferent expression she could muster and looked up at him with what she hoped he'd think was disdain.

"Oh, it's _you_." She said trying to imprint dislike into her words. But, she had to admit – even if was to herself – that when his intense blue eyes caught hers she thought them the most beautiful set of eyes she had ever seen in her young, yet unforgiving, life.

They were the kind of eyes that tempted you to submerge yourself in their crystalline depths and never come up for air. She had never before felt the urge to do it herself. Not knowingly, at least. But, was finally beginning to see why many other women had always been so eager to let themselves get lost in them.

"Good to see you too." He drawled and then slowly ran his eyes up and down her form. She'd never caught him doing anything like it and it surprised her how it made her feel, as if liquid fire coursed through her veins.

Damon himself was also surprised and a bit alarmed by their intense reactions. So, he decided to speak up and get them doing what they had always done best… fight.

"Why so down? Where you expecting someone else? Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but Stefan is way too busy with his fiancé to be running after silly little girls like you." That had been a low blow, but the meaning behind it hadn't affected her in the least. Even though what she had shared with Stefan had been beautiful at the time, he was the last person on her mind right then.

How could he be, when all she could see in her mind's eye was the rapier-sharp image of his vivid blues? Elena looked at him a little irritated. At least he had managed to change the mood between them.

"I wasn't expecting Stefan, Jeremy said he would come get me. Which is why I'm wondering what _you're_ doing here. Where is my brother anyway?" Ice laced her words. Damon wrongly thought that his arrow had hit the bull's-eye and smirked almost evilly.

"He's video IMing with some girl named Anna, so he asked me to come instead. And, seeing as I had nothing better to do, I accepted."

'_Nothing better to do?_' How nice. Elena refused to take the bait.

"Well, you're late." She knew that she had sounded like a petulant child. But, she didn't care.

"Don't take those airs with me, Miss Gilbert. You know that your tantrums don't impress me at all. They had no effect on me when we were growing up and they won't now." Elena clenched her teeth out of frustration. She detested when he addressed her like that and Damon knew it. She sucked in a breath and tried to chase her anger away.

"I don't have tantrums, no matter how much I'm being provoked." Was her plain answer. He grinned.

"You seem to have a bad memory. I could name you one by one every tantrum you've thrown since I met you." Sure he could, he always seemed to be keeping record of all her bad moments to later throw them in her face.

"And you? Why are you changing the subject? You still haven't excused yourself for making me wait for more than two hours." And he never would. Of that, she was one hundred percent positive.

"Jeremy forgot to tell us you were coming. He remembered about thirty minutes ago. I've been breaking every speed limit there is just to get here in case you were preoccupied. And what do I find? You, lying seductively on a bench while the wind blow's your skirt up for the sheer enjoyment of the passerby."

Was it possible for her sudden attraction for him to turn back to contempt in just five minutes?

"What are you saying? I have more clothes on that half of the women around here." It was true. Some of the women she'd seen were walking around in nothing more than their tiny bikinis and a see-through wrap. Sure, they were in a tropical island, but in an airport nonetheless. Elena, on the other hand, was wearing a very decent purple knee length dress with black trims on the hems. Damon's eyes traveled trough her body once more and she shivered. He smirked again.

"And here I thought that you had dressed that way for Stefan. You've already tried everything else. It was only a matter of time before you resorted to sex." Elena could not help the blush that crept to her cheeks.

"I've done nothing of the sort!" Elena was beyond offended. Her hand twitched, itching to slap him. She didn't like having Damon think that she was still after Stefan, but she wouldn't fess up to their secretly failed romance either. It was hard, but she kept herself in check.

His gaze softened a bit, but his eyes never left hers. "Really?"

"Of course!" The truth was, that as a teenager she had often fantasized about it, but had never had the guts to try it. It wasn't in her nature to cheapen herself that way just to get a man's attention. For some strange reason, she wanted Damon to know that.

"I'm glad to hear that. Although I don't know if I should believe you. Do you have something else planned then?" He asked, arching an eyebrow while angling his head to the side.

This vacation would not be easy to bear. How was she to have people see that she no longer harbored feelings for Stefan without letting them know of what had transpired between them? Elena shot Damon a murderous look and retorted.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I have nothing planned." Very smooth. That was exactly what someone who was actually planning something would have said.

"Oh, come on! You can't deny that you came running once you heard of Stefan's engagement. Aren't you going to try to break them up?" The sarcasm was still there, but his tone was colder this time and she didn't like it.

Why did he have to torment her so? Stefan was the last person she wanted to see. What she really wanted right now was the power to erase her stupid crush from everyone's minds.

"I would never dream of doing such a thing." She said with as much conviction she could gather. He snorted derisively and rolled her eyes at her.

"What you mean is, that you would do it, if you _knew_ how." He said sharply, scathingly.

Damon stepped towards her and leaned in until he was so close that she could feel his breath on her face. He then pinned her down with his icy eyes and her legs itched to move backwards, but she was still sitting on the bench and was afraid of fainting if she moved.

The intensity of his gaze made her body hum in excitement and yet, the coldness of his words made her want to cry. "Why are you so mean to me?" Elena asked with a choked sob. She was so angry at herself for showing such weakness.

Damon sighed, his eyes softening. "Because you're a fool, Elena. Chasing after what could never be yours." He said with unexpected amiability. His right hand reaching up to tuck a strand of silky hair behind her ear. The movement left her breathless and she desperately hoped he wouldn't notice. She felt the knot in her throat tighten as he continued. "It's time for you to leave your childish behavior aside. Stefan has never loved you and he never will."

If he only knew how true those words were. The only thing Stefan had wanted her as was as a bed warmer. And he only stuck around because she wouldn't give him what he wanted. Sure, she knew that he didn't love her, but to hear it from someone else made her go pale.

"You are hateful!" She said in a broken voice. Without even knowing it, he had brought back the humiliation she had felt when she found out that Stefan had been playing with her feelings.

"You know what I think? I think that you enjoy hurting me." She said. He took a step back, straightening up. However, his eyes were devoid of any of their usual humor.

"The truth always hurts, Elena. Look around you. Stefan may not love you, but there certainly a lot of men out there that could. If you would only give them a chance."

'_He may be right._' She thought, but the wound is still too recent. She wasn't prepared to expose her heart for another cruel bastard to mangle.

"But I don't want anyone else!" She exclaimed irritated. And instantly regretted it, realizing that it could easily be taken out of context. But she decided to let him think what he wanted. She knew he would anyway.

"How sad. You're condemning yourself to a lonely life full of bitterness." He looked at her with pity in his azure gaze.

"It may or may not be that way. But it's my life not yours, so stop telling me what to do." She warned him and he laughed with sorrow.

"God! I've never met anyone as stubborn as you." He was clearly frustrated. Elena gave him a caustic glance.

"And you're despicable!" She answered. Damon smiled openly and she felt her chest tighten. She shifted uncomfortably. He always seemed to get her so mad that her blood boiled in her veins. He shook his head with irony and held out a hand to help her up.

"Come on, Daffy, I'll take you to the house. Maybe some rest and a good meal will soften your bitchy mood."

"Don't start." She said plainly. But took his hand and let him help her up.

However, she lost her footing when getting up and if it weren't for Damon's quick reflexes she would've landed hard on her face. Instead, and she wasn't sure it was for the best, she suddenly found herself in his arms with her face pressed against his chest.

Not good.

As corny as it sounded, she felt as if an electric charge ran through her body. The strength with which he held her, along with his warm breath on her neck and the delicious smell emanating from his person, wreaked havoc on her senses. It felt as if her whole being was melting against his.

"Are you okay?" He asked with a hint of naughtiness in his voice. Elena, still floating, raised her head trying to find an answer for whatever it was that had happened to her. She had never felt anything like it before. It was as if the world around them fell away until all she could hear and feel was just him.

"Are you comfortable?" Damon's question, which was laced lightly with irony startled her, taking her back to reality. He was looking mischievously at her and she realized that she was still held tightly to him. She felt she could die of embarrassment.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She wailed with a choked voice, trying fruitlessly to get away from him, but he wouldn't let her. Somehow, she finally got loose from his arms and regarded him warily, her breathing erratic.

"I was only trying to save you from a broken nose." He answered smiling brightly while placing his hands in his pockets. She stood straight, self-consciously arranging her skirt. She needed to buy some time before facing him again.

"Thank you, but there was no need for you to hug me." She replied. Inwardly moaning. How could she have let her emotions get away with her like that? He must think that she enjoyed being in his arms. She couldn't let herself be enamored with another Salvatore, no matter how attracted she was to him.

"Really? You were as hugged to me as I was to you. Hell, even more." He corrected her softly, looking into her eyes. His eyes were doing things to her that she could never explain.

"I was not hugging you, Damon!" He limited himself to smile.

"It sure felt like it to me." He argued in a ridiculous sing-song voice that only he could've pulled off. Elena could not hold his gaze and turned her head away.

"Well, you're wrong." She repeated. _Hug him, her? _She would run herself through with a knife before she even considered hugging him. They had never gotten along and there was no reason to start now.

'_You've always despised him. Remember that._' Elena told herself. But she knew it wasn't true. She was uncomfortably flashing back to when she was fourteen. The night when he had kissed her roughly to make a point and the way her body reacted to his. It was a distant memory. One that paled in comparison with what his eyes were doing to her now.

"I wonder if you've realized how much you reaction reveals." The spell her musings had cast upon her was broken by his resentful comment. How typical of Damon to make a storm in a glass of water! She crossed her arms over her chest and irritably tapped her foot on the floor.

"I imagine that it reveals up to what extent you displease me." She stated giving him an cold glare that dared him to continue, which he did.

"Curiously, that is not the impression that I got." Damon said, slightly widening his eyes to emphasize his point while running a hand through his hair. She couldn't stop her eyes from following the path of his hand and cursed herself when she stupidly wondered if his hair would be as soft to the touch as it appeared to be.

"Is that so? Well, next time I will make an effort to demonstrate it with more clarity. Can we go now?"

"Don't you wanna know what you've revealed to me?" He baited her. Elena knew that whatever it was that he was going to say, she wouldn't like it.

"It's of no interest to me what your warped mind has perceived." She said bending down to pick up her suitcase. With any luck he would let the matter go. But seeing as this was Damon who she was dealing with, it was very doubtful.

"You've felt it too. I could see it in your eyes." That statement shocked her. She didn't want to talk about it, but felt that if she didn't deny it he would assume the contrary.

"I've felt nothing." She said without meeting his gaze.

"Liar." He stated. She felt compelled to look at him. "You felt the connection between us. It was as if a million sparks ran through our skin. You _like_ being in my arms. Come on, deny it!"

Elena blushed furiously. It was true that she had enjoyed the feel of his strong arms around her, but she wasn't about to acknowledge it in front of him. They had never gotten along and if they got involved now, it would surely be a catastrophe.

"You've said many idiotic things in your life Damon, but this tops it all." He just smirked the way he did when mocking her. The same smirk that always made her want to both kill him and melt into a steaming pile of goo at the same time.

"You think so? We'll see about that."

Elena answered with more confidence this time. "No, we're not seeing anything."

"You have nothing to be afraid of." He urged.

"Don't be an idiot. I'm not afraid of you." She glared openly at him.

"What I meant was that you don't have to be afraid of your own feelings."

That caught her off guard. "What do you mean?"

"There isn't anything wrong about desiring another man who isn't Stefan."

"Thanks for giving me your blessing!" She said sarcastically. How noble of him.

"It couldn't be any other way when it's me that you desire." He pointed out with a smirk. Elena lost her composure. Could he possibly be more arrogant?

"What? Don't go down that path, Salvatore. Don't even think about it. Besides, I don't have to stand here and listen to your foolishness." She said taking hold of her suitcase and starting to walk away.

"Where do you think you're going?" He said a little breathless after chasing after her. She turned to him.

"To get a cab." She stated plainly. He laughed.

"Well, good luck with that. We're on tourist's high season. It would be a miracle if you found a free one."

"Go away." She insisted, already knowing that he was right.

"You know? Running away won't change anything." He said behind her. Elena froze in mid-step and let the suitcase fall to the floor before shooting him a furious look.

"I am _not_ running away idiot. Why would I?" Didn't he realize that she was in no way interested in him?

"Prove it, have dinner with me tonight. I'll cook" Damon's request took her by surprise. Not just the fact that he was offering to cook an entire meal for her, but she had also never expected him to make such a drastic change in tactics.

"And risk dying from indigestion. Tempting, but no, thank you." It would be best if they didn't spend more time alone than it was necessary.

"You should know that Stefan and Katherine will not be dining with us tonight."

Elena shrugged. He had no idea what a relief it was to hear that. "What of it? Everyone else will still be there."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Princess, but they've got bingo in a local club tonight. So it would be just us two and the Germ." She looked at him exasperated. Partly angry at his high and mighty attitude and partly annoyed at the stupid nickname he used for her baby brother.

"You're really enjoying this. Aren't you?" Judging by the way he was smirking at her, the answer had to be affirmative.

"It's just that you're so amusing – he quipped – well, are you dining with me or would you rather hear Jeremy blab about human innards while you eat?" Elena closed her eyes for an instant. She knew he was right. Jeremy was a darling, but he was a tad bit tactless while carrying on in conversation. And she really didn't want to try to eat her food with Jeremy's overzealous talk of violent and bloody video games in the background.

"All right." She reluctantly accepted.

"How graceful of you, Miss Gilbert." Damon picked up the suitcase from the ground and took it to his car. Elena threw herself carelessly on the passenger seat while he finished putting her things in the trunk.

"I know you too well to be giddy about a dinner invitation." He said as he opened the door and sat in the driver's seat. She was too distracted by his condescending ways to remember to comment on his gaudy choice of transportation.

"Is that what you think? Well, let me tell you something. There's a lot of things you don't know about me." He started the engine and let the words hang in the air between them. Elena looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"We all have our secrets." She answered thoughtfully after a while. Her secrets would make their whole family fall backwards if they ever found out.

"Don't you want to know what mine are?" He taunted. Elena sighed and turned from the window.

"Of what use would it be? We still wouldn't get along."

"You think?" She looked at him surprised.

"Do you mean to say that you might like me, Mr. Salvatore?" She said inquiringly. He half smiled and angled his face to look at her. Her stomach dropped and she wasn't sure if it was because he had taken his eyes off the road or because he had suddenly fixed her with them.

"You are not the worst company in the world, Elena." His eyes widened in that little eye-thing he often did as he said it. A gesture that always made her want to slap his face and her insides tingle all at once.

"Is that right? I mean, I didn't expect an answer like that one. You've always seemed to hate me. I don't know what to say." The way he grimaced at that, although he was quick to hide it under a mask of smugness, told her that it wasn't the answer he had wanted to hear.

"However, my appreciation for you wanes before your absurd obsession with my brother. Hopefully, I'll get over it." Elena, annoyed at his sarcasm, took a deep breath and instinctively defended something that was water _way_ under the bridge for her.

"There's nothing absurd in what I fel- _feel_ for Stefan." She quickly corrected her mistake hoping that he hadn't noticed her slip at almost using the past tense.

"There wouldn't be if you were five years younger, but you are not a child anymore. So stop behaving like one."

"Age has nothing to do with it." She said, turning her body towards him in her seat. "And what about you, _Don Juan_? Why haven't you had a single serious relationship in your twenty-two years of age? Aren't you postponing it a bit?"

Damon smiled bitterly. "Not when you've found the love of your life and know that you can't have it."

"The love of your life? You mean that you found somebody you wanted to be with and lost her?" She asked, too interested in the subject for her own good.

"I mean that there were things in the way of getting to her. So I decided to let go and look for someone else. I haven't found anyone yet." Elena was silent for a while trying to understand the implications of his words. Then he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her as he tried at lightening it with his usual bit of Damon-ess. "But, I sure do like to try."

"I'm sorry. It must've been painful." She would've been shattered if she had had to renounce her love for Stefan, before she knew what a bastard he was. Judging by the tightening of Damon's jaw at her words, painful had been an understatement. She didn't want to know why, but the thought of him pining away after some unknown woman did all sorts of wrong things to her stomach.

"Thanks. The truth is that it really was hard, very hard. But I wasn't going to waste my life away, despairing for someone who couldn't have been mine."

Elena bit her lip. "Like what's happening to me, you mean?" The truth was that Damon's version of love stuck to her like glue on a post-it. She had wasted a lot of time and effort. Time that she would never get back.

"Don't feel so bad. Soon you will see things differently. And a world full of possibilities will open before you." He recited theatrically as he extended his arm exaggeratedly. She shook her head at him.

"You sound like a fortune cookie. Besides, it' too late for that." She said as he turned into a small dirt road that lead them to the summer home their parents had borrowed for their vacation.

"I'll bet you anything that you'll have forgotten Stefan by the end of your stay here." She knew that she could never forget Stefan, but not for the reasons that Damon thought.

"What do I get if you lose the bet?" Damon laughed while he parked the car in front of their home for the summer. An enormous construction of white stucco walls and terracotta colored tiles on the roof.

"If you win you can ask me for whatever you like. But if _I_ win, what will you give me?" He asked with an evil twinkle in his eyes.

"Whatever you like, of course." She responded mimicking his earlier words offering her hand to shake on it. Damon looked at her and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his index finger instead.

"I hope you keep your promise." He said wistfully before getting out of the car. "Oh and there's something you'll need to know." He called while opening the trunk.

"What is it?" She didn't like the mischievous way his eyes were shining right then.

"Well, when you first said that you weren't going to make it, Miranda gave the room that was supposed to be yours to Katherine and Stefan. So you'll be sleeping in the guest room that is right next to mine." Damon took her things and went into the house without waiting for an answer. Probably because he knew what it would be.

Elena clenched her fist and watched as he walked away with fury in her eyes. This was the last thing she needed. Not more than tree hours after getting off from the plane and she had already found out that she was inexplicably attracted to the man that had made her growing years a living hell, was almost sure his sly comments and innuendos meant that she was the someone else he was trying to move on to because he couldn't have the one he truly wanted and to top it all off, her mother had given her room away and saddled her with weeks of sleeping in the room next to his.

Jolly!

This was panning out to be the greatest vacation of her life…

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><p><strong>AN:** So there you have it. A nice long chapter to get things going. It felt a little too extensive, but I wanted to set the pace first. We'll dive right into the story in the next one...

Chapter's song: Liar – Taking Back Sunday

Now, Damon and I will be retiring to take care of some *ahem* _personal_ business... We'll be around these parts again in a few days... Fell free to miss me. =D

Damon: "Wait!"

_'What is it, my sexy evil pixie?'_

Damon: "I was gonna do that thing we talked about earlier."

_'Oh yeah, the thing... by all means, go ahead... hehehe'_

Damon: *compels readers* "You will stop and leave a lengthy review before browsing away from this page" *smirks* *eye-things*


	3. Kiss Yourself Good Night

**Disclaimer:** _Sadly, I do not own anything... not Elena or any of the characters and painfully, not Damon either... (though I do love to play with him in my dreams *blushes*) but, as I was saying, nothing TVD related that can be found in this story is mine... Zero, nada, zilch_ :'(

**A/N:** I know it's childish and at my age, bordering on ridiculous even, but: _Yeah! DELENA KISS! Boom! I told ya so!_ *ahem*

Yes, well, now that _that_ is out of the way and I've embarrassed myself enough for one day... I just wanted to thank the awesome people who took the time to review the first two chapters. I'm glad you've liked them and sincerely hope not to disappoint with this one. I have an idea where this story is headed (Delena all the way, obviously) but I'm making it up as I go and all of your comments are a helpful way to get there. So in a way, we'll be writing this together :)

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><p><strong>2. Kiss Yourself Goodnight<strong>

The first thing Elena did after getting settled was to sit on the bed and open her laptop. She linked it to the wifi router that she was sure could be found somewhere in the house and for once, she had a reason to be thankful for Jeremy's noxious addiction to video games.

She emailed Jenna, letting her know that she had arrived safely and was already at the house. Then she chatted with Bonnie on the instant messenger. Ranting to her about Damon and his incessant playful bullying of her.

When their cyber-girl-time was done, Elena proceeded to take a long hot shower. She needed it and sigh deeply as the soft relaxing drops of water beat down the aching of her limbs. With all the tension mounting between her older stepbrother and her, the stressful tightening of her muscles had reached higher levels that no sports activity ever could make them to.

Now, Elena was currently sitting in front of the vanity in the guest room she had been assigned to – don't even get her started on _that_ – brushing her wet hair, clad in only a plain black bra and matching boy-shorts.

The island's atmosphere was very comforting, almost in a lazy way. There was a warm breeze coming through the balcony doors and she could already hear the chirping of crickets.

Lost in the feel of such tranquility, she was startled when she heard a soft knock on her door. It was Damon. However, he didn't bother to wait for an answer, he just threw open the door and waltzed happily into the room.

Elena just stood there, frozen. Like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car. Damon looked a little put-off too, but only for a few seconds. She let out a little cry, suddenly remembering that she was half-naked. She stood and ran to the bed to grab the first thing she saw that would cover her exposed flesh. Which turned out to be the edge of the white comforter that covered the queen sized bed. She let out a frustrated sigh as she caught sight of her robe lying but a mere two feet away. But she didn't dare to move and stood holding what little she pulled of the comforter in front of her. Damon rolled her eyes at her, but turned around just the same.

"Have you no shame?" She yelled, mad as hell, still holding tightly to the brush she had been using on her hair.

"Well, not really. No. Need any help with that?" He said having turned back around and pointing at the brush in her hands.

"No! Don't you dare come near me!" Damon took a step back and turned his head to look out the balcony doors.

"What the hell are you doing now?" She said irritated.

"I'm looking away again so you can put on some clothes with what little decorum you have left. Of course, it will not do you much good now, even if you blinded me. You have no idea how much I liked what I saw." She knew he was baiting her and she restrained the urge to punch him in the gut. Instead, she walked to the other side of the bed and put on her robe with trembling hands.

"Do you always go prancing into women's rooms without an invitation?"

"First of all, I do not prance anywhere and besides, I knocked first." He answered indignantly turning his head back to her.

"Yes! And you walked right in without waiting for an answer! You are unbelievable! I should slap you." She wanted to, badly. But she knew that as soon as her hand made contact with his skin, the alien tingling would take over and she was neither dressed nor emotionally prepared properly for _that_ situation.

"Don't worry, that won't be necessary. Just know that it will be punishment enough when I can't sleep tonight because of what I've just seen." He said flirting, with a lopsided grin on his face.

The truth was that she would not be able to sleep either. Judging from what she felt when his eyes ran her over as they talked. She had to admit that he looked extremely sexy in the attire he had donned tonight. In fact, he emanated a kind of male sensuality that fogged the senses. And Elena's senses were going crazy right now. She could hardly breathe right.

"Well, seeing as you're here now. What was so important that it couldn't wait for dinner or at least until I had put some clothes on?" The last part was muttered, but he heard hear just fine. A sly smirk settled on his face as he pinned her with his smoldering eyes.

"What do you think I could want right know, after knowing that beneath that robe hides such a beautiful body covered only by two pieces of flimsy black underwear?" His voice made her pulse fire up rapidly and her knees go weak.

Elena's eyes went wide. Even though lots of other men had often flirted with her, she never expected this from Damon of all people. And curiously enough, she liked it.

"Would you be serious for once?" She sounded out of breath and hoped he didn't notice, but not many things went past Damon Salvatore.

"What makes you think that I'm not being serious now?" He said with an arched eyebrow. Elena wished they had never started that conversation.

"Because, you're not interested in me in that way." Damon's lopsided grin was back.

"I'm not?" He argued sarcastically, looking intently at her with a raised eyebrow as she took in a shaky breath. What was it with him? This was clearly not the Damon she remembered. Yes, he was the same in many ways. But gone were the caustic stares and the disapproving looks. This was not the Damon that had shunned her after saving her from... no, she would not dwell on that. The point was, that now he seemed hell-bent on showing her a completely different side of him. A sexy, playful – and dare she even think it? Perhaps truly attracted to her – side.

"Be it as it may. You should not be thinking of me in that way." She tried to make clear to him without actually saying the words, that even if she was burning on the inside, there would be no such physical enactments of said burning.

None whatsoever.

Nothing.

Nada.

"And why not?" He challenged.

"Because we… I mean you and me… Us…" Suddenly Damon's grin turned into a full-fledged smile and she couldn't help but to stare at him perplexed.

"No. There's no us, yet. But trust me, there will be." He said. Making it almost sound like a promise. Elena's heart was thumping wildly in her chest.

"Stop spouting such nonsense." She commanded in a shaky voice.

"If what I'm saying is nonsense, then why are you so nervous?" He looked down at her shaking hands to make his point. Elena hated that he was right. Although, never in a million years would she openly admit it to him. But it was a good question. There was something in the way he looked at her. So different from how Stefan did, that was incredibly exciting. She was trying her best to ignore it, but up until now, she hadn't been the least successful. It was starting to scare her, the way her head fogged up every time he was near her.

"If I'm acting nervously, it's because you're behaving unusually." Damon raised both eyebrows at that.

"Really? Tell me, Miss Gilbert. Since when are you an expert judge of character?" He's tone was soft, but he hit his mark as an expert mark's man would. "There's never been anyone except Stefan for you. I imagine that you've had a few flings, but no real boyfriends. Am I wrong?"

She didn't like to hear those words. But what he said was true. The men she had gone out with before whatever it was that she had had with Stefan had been nothing to her. Seven months ago at the beginning of their almost fling, Stefan had been everything to her. It was only after that, that she realized how wrong she had been. But she didn't intend to let him know that. So she stood straight, head held high and shielded herself in her supposedly still ongoing crush on Stefan.

"I've never felt for another man and stop calling me that!" And as expected, Damon shook his head in disapproval. A look she was more familiar with.

"That may have been before. But from now on, Elena, I will be a part of your life too." His eyes appeared nearly defeated. They made his words, though delivered in a commanding tone, seem like a plea. Something inside her ached for him.

Elena shifted from one foot to the other, swallowing down the knot in her throat. "You've always been a part of my life, Damon." She said as she toyed with the robe's tie.

If possible, Damon's smile grew wider. And Elena's heart skipped a beat, which was happening far too often around him.

"That's true. But it's up until now that you've come to see me as a man. I know that I've woken your senses and that deep inside you've come to realize that you at least desire me if nothing else." Elena almost laughed. If it weren't just physical attraction. If it were anyone else. But it was Damon, and she would never give him the satisfaction of acknowledging it before him.

"Let me say this one more time so it is very clear to you. _I DO NOT DESIRE YOU_!" She insisted. He didn't seem surprised by her answer.

"Because you still desire Stefan? Well I'm sorry to tell you this, Elena. But he's no longer available. I, on the other hand, am more than willing to take his place for you."

"Keep dreaming, jerk." And to her amazement, he didn't retort with a hurtful comment, but simply limited himself to smile wickedly at her.

"Oh, yes. I've dreamt about you. And what incredible dreams they've been." Elena's mouth hung open.

"You're lying… You've never…" Damon's smile grew wider. She just stared.

Smiling, truly smiling without any hint of sarcasm or bitterness, was not something he did on a daily basis. In fact, judging from her memories of him, he rarely ever did. But she found him doing it a lot since she arrived there.

"Admit it, _Miss Gilbert_. The sole idea makes you dizzy on your feet."

"Never in my life –"

"What do you mean? That it hasn't crossed your mind or that you won't admit to it?"

"You should know, seeing as you're the expert nowadays." She responded, sarcasm dripping from her words. She was beyond flustered and it didn't even occur to her to yell at him for calling her Miss Gilbert again. He just stood there admiring her flushed state in silence.

"Are you done?" She inquired after a while, her cheeks still red with embarrassment.

"I wasn't the one who started this conversation in the first place."

"Sure you did!" She said, indignantly pointing a finger at him. "You started it the moment you walked through that door without my permission. You… You…" She flailed her arms in the air out of frustration when she couldn't come up with an insult that was unpleasant enough for him. "Damn you, Damon Salvatore! Why do you always have to be so exasperating? Now if you've had enough laughs at my expense, I would like you to leave so I can finish getting ready."

"You know? I wouldn't bother you so much if you weren't so predictable." Elena looked at him, almost disappointed.

"You mean that all this was just a ruse to get me mad?" That possibility made her stomach turn. This was madness! Why did she suddenly feel so empty? Maybe she did want to be with him after all…

Nah!

"Oh, no. Everything I've said is true. How true, is also the fact that you look beautiful when you're angry." He corrected taking a step towards her and moving a strand of brown hair from her face in a gesture not unlike the one when he had invaded her personal space at the airport bench earlier. When had he gotten so close?

Elena just stood there looking into his eyes.

God, his eyes…

"Don't you also know that I'm dangerous when I'm angry?" She said in a lame attempt to distract him from her staring.

"I wouldn't care if you started throwing shoes at my head, you'd still be adorable to me."

"Really?" She asked sarcastically. "What if it were a hair brush?" She waved the brush that was still held in an iron grip on one of her hands. Damon smirked.

"Well, I wouldn't worry. Unless your aim has improved considerably."

"Jerk!" Was all she could say, with laughter in her voice. It was hard to stay mad at him when he looked at her like that. She doubted that any woman, no matter who she was, could keep a level head and a good hold on her sanity when regarded with such intensity by that man.

He took her by the shoulders and brought her closer to him, looking serious all of a sudden. "You need to let go of your silly dreams of Stefan, Elena."

"Tell me, oh enlightened one. Why would I want to do that?" How she managed to get the words out without stuttering baffled even her.

"Because they're nothing but that, Elena. Just dreams."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then you really are stupid, Elena. If you refuse to see what's right in front of you."

"Why are you so mad, Damon? When you've clearly stated what a hopeless case I am."

"That, you'll have to find out for yourself." He let her go as suddenly as he had grabbed her before and began to walk away. "Don't forget to let me know when you do." He called over his shoulder as he was leaving the room.

She couldn't will her feet to move. And it was that way, that Elena stood still in the middle of her room daydreaming about blue eyes when the digital clock on her night table beeped once announcing the start of yet another hour. The shrill sound snapping her out of her Damonic trance.

Half an hour and three dress changes later, she found herself waiting nervously in the living room, wondering for the hundredth time, the reason why she had accepted the invitation. As she fidgeted once more, she saw him slowly descending the stairs, dressed like an Armani model.

Dinner with him was going to be unbearable.

"I hope you don't mind going out to eat, but it seems we have to do some grocery shopping before I cook for you." Bingo! That was her chance to get out of it.

"Well, we can leave it for another night. I don –"

"Or we can shop for groceries now and I'll cook when we get back." He interrupted her, looking expectant, like a child asking for permission to go out and play. And she just couldn't deny him.

Halfway through the shopping list they had improvised in the car on their way to the supermarket, she felt his eyes on her for what seemed to be the billionth time that night. He was eying her like a piece of meat again! Only her hunger kept her from leaving and walking all the way back to the house.

So she put on her best smile, as brilliant as it was false, and kept on looking for the items they needed without even giving him a second glance. Why should she care about what went through Damon Salvatore's head?

She finally looked up to ask him, when she couldn't make her mind on what brand of tuna they should get, just in time to see a girl set some samples of what looked like chocolate cake down on a stand a few feet away. She ran like a mad woman and grabbed a piece without even asking and gulped it down in two bites.

Truly smiling at her antics for once, Damon walked over and took a slice of his own. But, instead of eating it, he offered it to her. The thought of feigning modesty and telling him that it was his crossed her mind for a brief second, but not for long. Who was her to turn down chocolate? Still suspicious of his sudden chivalrousness, she gave thanks and took it. Smiling genuinely as she ate.

That was when she saw _him, _walking down that same aisle with whom she guessed must have been his fiancé by his side. Her goofy smile disappearing in an instant.

This was the first time she saw him, Stefan Salvatore, since they broke up. Her eyes then traveled to the girl hanging from his arm. Katherine, that was her name. She recalled Damon referring to her as such. She was a rare beauty. Her hair was like cinnamon infused mocha and her whole appearance screamed 'Classy!' And clearly the hunger was getting the best of her. She mentally slapped herself for coming up with such an asinine analogy.

"She is really beautiful, no doubt about it. And she looks elegant too." Elena voiced her thoughts with as much honesty as she could. Damon looked to see whom she was talking about and his eyes widened with sudden understanding as they landed on the pair that were walking their way without even knowing it.

"That, she is. But don't let yourself be fooled. She is also headstrong and independent. Nothing like the silly girls Stefan is used to dating. She will not let any slights go by unnoticed." He said that while looking into her eyes and she could not help the sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Damon. I need to go, please. I'm starving." She wasn't the type to run away like that or beg Damon for anything, but she couldn't stay there and face them feeling so unprepared. And she wasn't lying, she truly was starving.

Damon was going to give her a piece of his mind when he saw Stefan's eyes widen in panic at the sight of them.

No, not them.

Elena.

He was looking straight at Elena as if she was the reaper! Why? Had something actually happened between them?

No, it couldn't be possible.

But he had to know for sure. Only, judging from Elena's sudden paleness he wouldn't be getting any information with Stefan around. So he came up with the incredibly stupid excuse of having forgotten his wallet in the car and asked Elena to get it for him. She looked at him gratefully and sped away before they came any closer.

It was almost hilarious the way Stefan steered Katherine to come almost face first with a can of potted meat, trying to hide Damon from her view. It seems they had also noticed the lack of food in the pantry. Elena's eyes never left the pair as she walked towards the store's sliding doors. Sighing, he took a box containing a whole chocolate cake from the stand and went to the counter.

When she got to the car, Elena looked back to see that he was already at the cash register and noticed that he hadn't left the wallet after all since he was handing something that looked like a credit card to the cashier, who to her amusement was smiling brightly at him while he half grinned at her to then make an exasperated face.

They headed home after Damon had placed what things they were able to get in the trunk of the car.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked more concerned about her state of mind than for her physical health.

"I'm fine. That chocolate cake was good, wasn't it?" She answered absently, her mind obviously on something else as she looked out the car window. He hadn't even tasted the damned cake and she knew it.

But he wasn't going to stand for that, he thought while parking the car. He got out, walked to the passenger's side and held open the door for her. If she was not willing to take Stefan out of her mind, then damn it, he would do it for her!

She suddenly felt an arm wrap around her waist just as she got out of the car. Damon's arm to be exact and he pulled her towards him, flush against his chest.

A strange feeling of dèjá vu caught hold of her and her surprised gasp was choked by the sudden appearance of his lips on hers. She stood stock still for an moment with her eyes closed, not knowing whether to succumb to the extreme urge to kiss back or pull away. Finally the pleasure she felt by that mere brushing of lips overrode everything else and she brought her arms around his neck with a sigh.

It was a dream. It had to be. Their lips were just touching and she felt as if she were floating on air. It only took a small stroke from the tip of Damon's tongue over her upper lip for her knees to turn to jell-o and her mouth to open, giving him free access to her own mouth as his arm around her waist tightened to give her support.

What happened next was madness. It was as if she was on fire and all she could do was join him in his exploration of her mouth. She honestly tried to stop, but every futile attempt just made her want it more. Her hands balled into fists, holding on to the fabric of the front of his shirt as he pulled her closer to himself.

Kissing her passionately, Damon took a step back with Elena still in his arms to lean against the car, placing his thigh between her legs while doing so. Her mind had literally gone blank some time ago as heat pooled at her core and she started to rub against his leg unconsciously. That was until his hands grabbed her backside to push her harder against him and she heard herself moan quite audibly.

"Too much – she gasped in between breaths – Damon, we need to stop this – another breath – _now_!" She roughly pulled herself out of his strong hold, panicked at the feeling of regret coursing through her. Not regret of kissing him, but regret of having ended the kiss.

"Why, what's wrong? Elena, there's nothing wrong in what we were doing!" He said it with such vehemence that she almost backtracked. Almost.

"Yes there is! What did you think Damon? That just because I can't have Stefan I was going to throw myself in your arms? That'll never happen." She couldn't look him in the eye, for that was what just happened. Wasn't it?

"Never say never, my little Princess." His arrogance was unbelievable. Even in the face of such circumstances he still had such utter confidence in himself that it was a bit intimidating.

"Well I just did, so you can kiss yourself good night, Damon." She said with a straight face, even though her voice trembled and turned on shaky feet to head inside the house. Not once looking back, for fear of giving in.

Damon ran a hand over his face with an agitated growl. He stood there, not daring to go after the infuriating girl, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. His mind flashing back to a time when she was barely a teenager and he had done almost the same thing to her. He should never get into a car with her again.

The unwelcome glare of the headlights of an approaching car brought his attention back to the present and the person getting out said vehicle. Stefan.

It always boiled down to Stefan.

He was there, always in the middle of everything. Forever involved in whatever Damon did or wanted. The realization hit hard, he didn't think he could ever truly hate his brother. But right at that moment he really, really, really didn't like him very much. Specially not when Elena was still blindly in love with the guy. Just the idea of it made his chest constrict and the bile rise up in his throat. He began to walk towards the house before Stefan could try to talk to him.

Damon tried not to think about Elena and the fact that she would be sleeping, probably in that skimpy black ensemble he had seen her in when he had barged into her room, just next door to him. Desire ran through him in waves. It was almost impossible to bear. He needed a cold shower. Scratch that. He needed a casual fuck. He needed to relieve himself or he would go insane.

He was so screwed.

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><p><strong>AN:** I took a advantage of Damon's impulsiveness for this chapter, but only a little. I'm thinking that he will probably back off a tiny bit after Elena's (come on say it: _stupid!_) reaction. To give her some space so that she is able to think things over. But you know what that means, right? Sexy, deflecting, sarcastic, banter-y Damon will resurface once more! There may even be someone else joining the fun.

Someone who will help make Elena jealous enough to force her to get over her moronic self-righteousness and finally succumb to him, you ask?

Who knows... Lol

Chapter's song: Kiss Yourself Goodbye – The All-American Rejects

**P.S.** Damon is currently off wishing Nina a happy birthday (amongst other things) so it is left to me to ask you nicely to REVIEW AFTER READING... finding your words in my inbox makes me fell all warm and tingly in my tummy! (or maybe those are worms? *_*) Catch you all in a few days!


	4. Feeling Way Too Damn Good

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything..._

**A/N:** Thank you to those thoughtful, considerate and beautiful people that have reviewed the story so far. Don't tell the muse bunnies, but *whispers* you are my real inspiration for continuing with this story.

All your comments have been read and most of them will be taken into consideration for the chapters to come. :)

I originally planned for things to slow down between Damon and Elena, but this idea just wouldn't stop bugging me until I set it free. So here's a little bit of smut (not really) and then we can start delving into the mechanics and inner workings of the emotional part of their relationship in the following chapter.

So, who's with me?

*crickets*

o.O

Okay...

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><p><strong>3. Feeling Way Too Damn Good<strong>

Light filled her senses. In fact, it was starting to hurt her eyes.

Was it morning already?

It seemed like she had gone to bed a minute ago. She still felt tired. Tired of what? She didn't know. Maybe it was jet lag. Or maybe it was the exhaustion her battling emotions had left her with after parting from Damon the night before. Whatever it was, she didn't feel like getting up. And those damned sun rays were starting to get on her nerves.

She threw the sheets over her head and closed her eyes, trying to recapture her long lost sleep. But just as she was getting that falling feeling you get when you're in between dreaming and awake, a knock on her door smashed her senses back to full awareness.

"Daughter, are you up?" Her mother's way too chirpy voice could be heard through the bedroom door.

"I am _now_!" She grudgingly replied trying to get up too fast and instantly regretting it as a wave of dizziness coursed through her. She landed hard on the bed behind her.

The door opened to reveal a beautiful brunette woman in her mid forties. "I am aware of your sleeping habits Elena, but could you try and better them for your stay here?"

Elena stood, trying to remember that the _being_ in front of her shared her same blood and took in deep, calming breaths. Finally, when she thought she had settled well enough, she put on her best plastic smile and spoke in a sickly sweet voice.

"Why, Miranda, how good it is too see you too after so long." Her mother smiled back in the same manner, which only helped to increase the tension in the air. But Elena knew better, the steel in her eyes told her of how much she hated to be addressed so disrespectfully. So she saw no harm in adding her thoughts while she was at it.

"I do not know if you realize it. But I have been living in Miami for the past six years. All the things you claim to know about me, might differ from the reality of who I am now." Miranda sucked in an angry breath and Elena hurried to finish before she erupted in all her fake self-righteous indignation. "Whatever, look I will try to accommodate my 'sleeping habits' as you so eloquently called them to your needs. But, then you should also try to have some consideration for the light of your eyes." She was wrong to think that agreeing would placate her. Her mother's face fell instantly.

"Well, seeing as you are already up, I expect you to be down at the breakfast table in ten minutes." Her face appeared to be carved out of stone. No emotion could be read on it by anyone when she was like that, except for those who knew her well.

"I'll be there." Was her only reply as she turned around and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.

But not before hearing Miranda's added comment on her way out. "And I expect your manners to have improved. I will not tolerate any rudeness in front of your stepbrother's fiancé." With that she walked away, leaving a fuming Elena behind her.

Oh, that woman could be so infuriating! She was her family but the woman had never really taken care of her after her father died. Elena never understood why. As far as she knew, she had never done anything to harm her.

She made her way to the sink and grabbed her toothbrush, before the memories took hold of her again. A lot of good it did her, her mother's departure from Aunt Jenna's house. She had taken her there to make a point, but left her as if she were excess baggage. Which she probably was to her. Her motherly affection was only reserved for Jeremy, her favorite. Although, Elena didn't blame him for that. Her brother had always been blind to their mother's animosity towards her, so she didn't even bother to count on him.

The biggest things she regretted and liked at the same time about her mother's second marriage were the other two additions to the family. Which brought her mind back to the impending reality of her approaching meeting with Stefan and his girlfriend in just a few minutes.

She finished getting ready, preparing herself both physically and mentally.

But she wasn't prepared enough for what happened next. Just as she stepped out of her room she came painfully in contact with a hard chest. A very familiar chest at that. At that time, she would have given anything for it to be Damon's, but fate would not have it that way.

The cologne he wore was intoxicating and she recognized it at once. Swallowing the lump forming on her throat, she looked up to meet the cloudy eyes of Stefan, who was looking down at her with contempt.

"Just who I was looking for." He said as he took hold of her arms, kept them by her side and brought them closer together.

His breath hit her face whenever he exhaled and to her surprise, she felt repulsion instead of the desire she used to feel before. It was shocking, to say the least. That she could stop feeling what she had thought to be so much in so little time.

She caught a whiff of alcohol in his breath and shuddered in disgust. It was too early in the morning to be drinking! At least for her it was. Stefan mistook her shudder for one of desire and pinned her with a lascivious stare that made her go cold all over.

"We need to clear some things before you go down to breakfast." He stated in a matter of fact tone.

"There is nothing left to be cleared between us Stefan. You cheated and I dumped you. You have already admitted to it and I have made peace with the fact that I can never completely escape you, seeing as we are part of the same family." He looked as if he were about to say something, but she continued. Heedless of his half-way opened mouth.

"It was a grave mistake. One that I am paying for dearly. Now if you would be so kind as to let me go. I need to get downstairs before Miranda sends the guard dogs after me." She tried to break loose from his hold, but he just wouldn't budge.

"If you're finished with your pitiful self-absorbed discourse, I only wanted to warn you against letting slip anything about our little past indiscretions." Elena tried in vain to keep her respiration attempts to a minimum. At least until he was finished talking. Her stomach turned.

Her disgust must have shown, because the next thing she knew he was pulling back enough to give her some room to breathe and just held her by the wrists.

"You should do something about the putrid smell coming out of your mouth. We wouldn't want your fiancé to choke on your breath now. Would we?" The words just spilled out of her without her thinking them through. She must have hit a nerve. Because his overly smug countenance instantly changed to a much more hostile one. The hands around her wrists tightened to the point of hurting.

"Listen here you spoiled brat! I am getting tired of your airs of royalty. Now I just want to be sure that you're not going to say a word about our relationship." She regarded him expressionless.

"What relationship, Stefan? There is not, nor has there ever exist any type of relationship between us. Save for the one as stepsiblings." She needed to get away. Now her appetite was lost.

He regarded her for a moment before letting go of her wrists. "All right, have it your way. Just don't come begging to me when the want starts to eat at you."

"Fine." She bit out between her teeth. "I will not say a thing. Can I go now?" Stefan said nothing and watched as she briskly walked away, muttering to herself.

Breakfast was a mild affair. It was only her mother, stepfather, Jeremy and her around the table that morning. Stefan had made a great fuss about Katherine having a migraine and decided to stay with her in their room upstairs. Elena, of course, new the real reason behind his absence and thought it was better that way. As for Damon, he was nowhere to be found. A subject that didn't seem to bother anyone but her. Therefore, she let it drop.

When breakfast was over, her parents got up and excused themselves, saying that they had made a previous compromise to go playing golf with some friends who were also vacationing on the island.

Jeremy, being the nerd/loner that he was, retired to his room to do some thing or other in his computer. Leaving poor Elena sitting at the table alone with her thoughts.

Looking through the windows in the dinning room, she saw the brilliant sun rays reflecting on the surface of the regal water fountain that stood in the middle of the driveway and felt a sudden urge to go swimming.

She trudged upstairs and changed into her white two-piece swimsuit, put on some faded denim shorts and a pair of flip-flops and ventured outside.

Her hair hanged loosely by the middle of her back and she didn't bother to apply any make-up. She wasn't dressing up for anyone, this day would be hers. She needed some alone time to sort through recent events in her mind.

She wondered trough the small palm tree forest behind the house and in minutes found a trail that, by the sounds of it, led towards the ocean.

A while later Elena found herself staring in wonder at the magnificent bit of beach before her. It seemed that she had found a piece of heaven on earth. The beach was hidden from view by tall palm trees and some smaller shrubs. The small pool went on a few miles back where she could see that it was cut off from the rest of the ocean by two large stone boulders that met halfway across, letting only a small stream of water run through forming the illusion of a pristine waterfall.

The waves broke slowly on the light colored sand. Emitting a soothing sound that lulled her on her feet. She had closed her eyes to better enjoy the moment when a loud splash broke trough the calm. Her eyes shot open just in time to see the form of a man emerging from the water and she instinctively ran and hid herself behind a bush.

Elena kept her eyes trained on the man rising from the water. Only to see that it was Damon! He reminded her of one of those Calvin Klein ads, clad only in his underwear. Maybe they weren't that different after all. Their thoughts had led them to do the same thing at the very same place.

She was distracted from her thoughts by the shine of the water droplets that slowly made their way down from his hair, over his fantasy-inducing abs to stop at the waistband of his alarmingly see-through boxers.

Already she could feel the heat pooling in her lower stomach. He must have felt her eyes on him, because he suddenly stiffened and began looking around. Still, she stood immobile, unable to take her eyes off his exquisite form.

His icy blues clashed with her chocolate browns and her breath caught. She had been found. Damon stared her down. His eyes regarding her erect nipples, and then holding her gaze once more. He seemed to be fighting an internal battle for a moment then his eyes cleared and he began walking towards her, his face set.

Her eyes were opened wide, and her whole body trembled, but not out of fear. She was thrilled beyond belief and somehow the concealed feeling of this place gave her a false sense of courage that she knew she wouldn't have had if they had been somewhere else.

Damon came to a stop just a few inches before her and wordlessly caressed her cheek while holding her gaze with his own lust-filled one. Elena opened her mouth to say something – she didn't know what, anything that would make him step back – but was cut off by the feel of his wet mouth against hers.

The hand on her cheek went to rest behind her head, while his other hand pulled her closer by the waist. He was cold! Chills went up her spine and she surrendered to him, their tongues brushing together as she grasped his shoulders tightly as not to fall when her knees buckled from desire.

He took hold of her left leg and draped it over his thigh. Elena, as if on cue, followed suit with her right one. She ended up straddling his waist as he cradled her backside with both hands and pushed her against the nearest palm tree, the hard evidence of his desire rubbing against her center.

Elena broke from the kiss, only to let out a loud moan as he bucked into her once more. Her back was scratching against the palm tree, but the only thing she could feel was his hot mouth on her shoulder. One cool hand came up to caress her belly and trailed up towards the edge of her top.

He looked down in time to see her look up from his chest, her pink tongue darting out to lick some of the salt water that still coated him. Both felt the wet heat down where their bodies met. Damon pushed forward and up once more, making her shudder at the hard feeling of him through the rough fabric of the denim shorts she still wore.

His hand finally cupped her breast trough her bathing suit and she sighed out of pleasure, his body still mimicking what he wanted to do to her when their clothes were off.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, beneath the haze of desire, alarm bells were ringing cautioning her to stop before their actions went too far. As if they hadn't already. Elena found herself speaking, though her voice sounded as unfamiliar to her as a stranger's would.

"Damon, we shouldn't… I mean… Oh, God!" She screamed as he set aside a piece of her top and took one nipple into his mouth.

She entwined her fingers in his dark hair, thus holding his head in place as the thoughts of what she was about to say flew out of her mind. Leaving only space for her to feel what his skilled mouth was doing to her upper body.

She heard him murmur something inaudible into her breast. And then he looked up, staking her with those wonderfully blue eyes of his. The shade of them now darkened by desire to resemble the color of the ocean behind them.

"I want you." He had stopped kissing her to lean his forehead on hers and whisper the words. Their noses touched a little. The lower part of his body bucked into her urgently. With her, almost coming on the spot.

"Elena, can I have you?" He sighed against her mouth. The way he said her name, always so different from anyone else's, sounding like a desperate plea convinced her that he needed this as much as she just realized she needed it herself. And then she discovered that she couldn't find it in herself to deny him.

"I…" Her voice wavered as she felt the first signs of her almost imminent orgasm caused by the friction between their still clothed bodies. His hands went to the waistband of her shorts at her silent nod of approval.

His deft fingers began undoing the single button.

And then a shrill ringing filled the air.

Both stiffened instantly looking around for the source of the offending sound. Their eyes came to rest on a pile of clothing by the very bush Elena had first hidden behind. A pile of clothes that she hadn't noticed there before, but was sure that it belonged to him.

Riiing!

There it was again! It was his cellular phone, which she marveled had a good reception on the island. He decided to ignore the still ringing bit of technology and leaned in to take her lips once more as he pulled the zipper down. But Elena, her climax already miles away, stopped him with one hand and pushed him lightly away from her. She signaled to his clothes with a sidewards nod of her head.

He regarded her for a moment, taking in her flushed state and groaned at the lack of warmth he felt when their bodies finally separated.

They looked at each other and she gave him a look of resignation that he knew rivaled his silent curses as he rolled his eyes at her and made his way towards his clothes. His erection still pulsing, making a tent from underneath the boxer shorts.

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><p><strong>AN:** Dum dum duuuum... Who will that be on the phone?

Those of you who think that whoever is calling is the one that will make Elena jealous, you might actually be right. But who will it be: Andie, Caroline... Alaric? (Lol!)

What? I'm not telling you _now_, you have to REVIEW and then read the next chapter to find out! .

Chapter's song: Feeling Way Too Damn Good – Nickelback

**On a separate note:**

I opened a new live journal account and have no idea how it works (a fact to which I shamefully admit :/) So, to break it in, I just came up with a lame new tradition:

_Kaemon's Valentine's Day One-Shot Giveaway! _

You can find the link in my profile. If it sounds cheesy, that's because it is and it goes something like this: The first three of you to go there and reply to my post by asking for their fanfics will recieve a custom-written TVD one-shot with the following:

a. the rating, setting and genre of their preference

b. a right to pick the three major events/plot twists

c. the opportunity to name or point out additional characters (if any)

d. an added dialogue line of your own creation for any one of the characters

And because I'm just lonely and miserable and will have nothing better to to with my time on that day, the one-shots will be posted both here on and my livejournal page on february 14, 2012.

So go, go and deviously plot creative ways to make my pretty little head hurt!

Hugs &kisses =D


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